What an advocate looks like, disgruntled edition

The Tropicana orange-juice carton never struck me as an iconic package, like the Coca-Cola bottle or even the Heinz Ketchup bottle. (I’m guessing you can picture both of those without a photo, but needed the photo at right to remind you of what the classic Tropicana carton looks like.)

However, for the Tropicana true believers, the orange with the straw sticking out of it was iconic — and should not be messed with.

So when PepsiCo messed with it — scrapped it, actually, in favor of this:

… the advocates howled.

According to the NYTimes,

Redesigned packaging that was introduced in early January is being discontinued, executives plan to announce on Monday, and the previous version will be brought back in the next month.

Also returning will be the longtime Tropicana brand symbol, an orange from which a straw protrudes. The symbol, meant to evoke fresh taste, had been supplanted on the new packages by a glass of orange juice.

The about-face comes after consumers complained about the makeover in letters, e-mail messages and telephone calls and clamored for a return of the original look.

Some of those commenting described the new packaging as “ugly” or “stupid,” and resembling “a generic bargain brand” or a “store brand.”

“Do any of these package-design people actually shop for orange juice?” the writer of one e-mail message asked rhetorically. “Because I do, and the new cartons stink.”

Others described the redesign as making it more difficult to distinguish among the varieties of Tropicana or differentiate Tropicana from other orange juices.

It wasn’t like there were riots in the supermarket aisles about this. I remember seeing the new packaging and thinking, “That’s dumb,” but not feeling motivated enough to give it any more energy than that. But a devoted core of people was motivated:

It was not the volume of the outcries that led to the corporate change of heart, [Neil Campbell, president at Tropicana North America in Chicago, part of PepsiCo Americas Beverages] said, because “it was a fraction of a percent of the people who buy the product.”

Rather, the criticism is being heeded because it came, Mr. Campbell said in a telephone interview on Friday, from some of “our most loyal consumers.”

“We underestimated the deep emotional bond” they had with the original packaging, he added. “Those consumers are very important to us, so we responded.”

Among those who underestimated that bond was Mr. Campbell himself. In an interview last month to discuss the new packaging, he said, “The straw and orange have been there for a long time, but people have not necessarily had a huge connection to them.”

Reminded of that on Friday, Mr. Campbell said: “What we didn’t get was the passion this very loyal small group of consumers have. That wasn’t something that came out in the research.”

Tropicana deserves kudos for responding to that passion, and should be thankful that they have so many advocates who care what their packaging looks like. Now that they know these folks are out there, they need to do something to recognize and reward their noisiness.

Here are prime candidates to tell the Tropicana story. The challenge is to channel that passion into something that’s productive for Tropicana and rewarding for those advocates, something that reinforces the love that’s already there, and encourages continued advocacy and storytelling.

I won’t presume to know what matters to Tropicana advocates, but I bet if you ask them, they’ll tell you. Campbell’s quote suggests Tropicana surveyed focus groups, not advocates, when they considered the design change. Let’s hope they’ve re-evaluated that strategy.

Other companies would do well to learn a lesson from Tropicana’s mistake. Logos, slogans and package designs often get overhauled because someone in marketing or somebody at the advertising agency gets bored and wants to mix things up. (Or more cynically, somebody wants to reap the fees that come from mixing things up.)

That boredom is understandable — and it’s not hard to imagine boredom setting in when you stare at the same logo or design all day, every day. But that’s not what the typical consumer does. Their interaction with the brand comes in smaller doses in the larger context of their daily lives, so they’re likely to have much greater stamina for appreciating a logo than its designer will.

If you feel the itch to mix things up with your look, talk to those advocates first. See how they feel about the old design. And if they agree that it’s time to freshen things up, invest them in the design selection process. Make sure your most loyal fans are on board with the new look before you take it live. Let them tell all their friends that they helped pick out the new logo, and that you cared enough to really listen to their opinions. Then smother them with free gear covered in that new logo. Give them enough that they can give it away to their friends, and encourage them to do so.

In other words, connect with your advocates, not focus groups. And give your advocates whatever tools they want and need that will help them tell your story.

:: Posted by Eric Ratinoff ::